RETRACTION AND WITHDRAWAL

Retraction and Withdrawal

UMI Medical Journal (UMJ) is committed to maintaining the integrity, transparency, and reliability of the scientific record. This policy establishes procedures for the withdrawal, correction, retraction, and handling of concerns related to articles published in or manuscripts submitted to UMJ.

1. Retraction Policy

UMJ may retract a published article when there is clear evidence that its findings or publication record are unreliable or that serious ethical or publication misconduct has occurred. Grounds for retraction may include plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabrication or falsification of research data, serious methodological errors that invalidate the findings, violations of research ethics, breaches of patient confidentiality, inappropriate image manipulation, peer-review manipulation, fraudulent authorship, undisclosed conflicts of interest that materially affect the research, or misuse of artificial intelligence that compromises the integrity of the article.

Retraction Procedure

When a concern is raised, UMJ may request an explanation and supporting documentation from the corresponding author and, where appropriate, other authors; examine relevant research data and ethical approval documents; consult independent experts, research ethics committees, or the authors’ institutions when necessary; and evaluate the available evidence to determine the appropriate editorial action. The Editor-in-Chief will make the final decision in accordance with applicable publication ethics principles, including relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). If retraction is warranted, UMJ will publish a clear retraction notice explaining the reasons and linking it to the original article. The original article will normally remain accessible in the journal archive and be clearly marked as “Retracted” to preserve the scholarly record, except where exceptional legal or safety considerations require otherwise. Retraction does not automatically imply that all authors were responsible for the misconduct; responsibility will be assessed based on the available evidence.

2. Manuscript Withdrawal Policy

In accordance with UMJ’s existing publication ethics policy, authors are not permitted to withdraw a submitted manuscript at any stage before publication. Authors who request cancellation or withdrawal of a manuscript during the peer-review process will be subject to a fee of IDR 500,000 (five hundred thousand Indonesian rupiah) per manuscript as compensation for the editorial and administrative resources allocated to processing the submission. Any request must be submitted in writing to the editorial office, state the manuscript title and submission identification number, provide a valid reason, and include confirmation that all authors agree to the request. The Editor-in-Chief will assess the circumstances and determine the appropriate action in accordance with UMJ’s policies. The withdrawal fee will not prevent UMJ from investigating suspected research misconduct, ethical violations, or concerns affecting the integrity of the scholarly record. Once an article has been published, it cannot ordinarily be withdrawn at the authors’ request; concerns regarding published articles will be handled through correction, an expression of concern, or retraction, as appropriate.

3. Correction Policy

UMJ may publish a correction when an error is identified in a published article but does not invalidate its overall findings or conclusions. Examples include errors in author names, affiliations, publication metadata, typographical or formatting errors that affect clarity, and errors in tables, figures, or text that can be corrected without invalidating the main findings. Corrections will be published transparently and linked to the original article.

4. Expression of Concern

UMJ may publish an Expression of Concern when credible concerns have been raised about a published article but the investigation is ongoing or the available evidence is insufficient to reach a final decision. The notice will explain the nature of the concern to the extent appropriate and will be linked to the relevant article. UMJ may update the notice when the investigation is completed.

5. Editorial Responsibility and Transparency

The Editor-in-Chief and editorial team are responsible for handling cases covered by this policy fairly, confidentially, and consistently. Decisions will be based on available evidence, UMJ’s established policies, and relevant publication ethics principles. Authors are expected to cooperate with editorial investigations and provide accurate information when requested. UMJ reserves the right to contact relevant institutions, research ethics committees, or other appropriate bodies when necessary to investigate concerns. This policy applies to submitted manuscripts and published articles handled by UMJ and aims to protect the integrity of the scientific record and promote responsible research and publication practices.